Synfig Studio for Mac is a free and open-source 2D animation software, designed as powerful industrial-strength solution for creating film-quality animation using a vector and bitmap artwork. It eliminates the need to create animation frame-by frame, allowing you to produce 2D animation of a higher quality with fewer people and resources. Synfig Studio is available for Windows, Linux and MacOS X.

Synfig Studio Features:

LayersSynfig supports a multitude of layers of various types; geometric, gradients, filters, distortions, transformations, fractal and a few others.

Spatial resolution-independenceMost elements are vector-based, and all layers are parametrically generated, hence even when changing the target resolution of a project, the only pixelation will occur in imported raster images, not the built-in components.

Temporal resolution independenceAnimation-keyframes are automatically interpolated by the computer, resulting in smooth motion

Sound supportSynfig have basic features for syncing your animation with soundtrack using Sound Layer. Linux users can get all benefits of full-featured audio editors through the JACK integration.

Pentablet-friendly toolsThe draw tool can read the pressure sensitivity channel off your favorite tablets, for natural line weighting, and more to come!

Artist-oriented designWhile it may not be obvious in this early state, Synfig (and its proprietary predecessors) has been designed from the ground up with animation workflow in mind.

Path-based GradientsUnlike purely SVG-based vector software, and most consumer-level animation programs, Synfig has full support for gradient paths - gradients that follow along a drawn shape. This allows artists to easily add soft shading to animation without the trouble of painting it onto every frame.